The cast of ‘Dial M for Murder’
Playwright injects some lesbian love into DTC’s Dial M for Murder
RICH LOPEZ | Staff writer
rich@dallasvoice.com
In Dallas Theater Center’s current production, the company delivers a classic murder-mystery. Only in this adaptation, while it is set in the past, playwright Jeffrey Hatcher brought some modern love to the tale. But the suspense remains the same.
DTC opened Dial M for Murder on April 10, with previews starting last Friday, April 5. Made popular by the 1954 film by Alfred Hitchcock, the story began as a play by Frederick Knott which premiered in 1952. In 2022, Hatcher put his own spin on the play.
“The play was first commissioned by Barry Edelstein and the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego,” Hatcher said. “He asked me about playing around with the plot in a few ways and said that it would be fun to give the women more to do.”
As a big fan of the original play, Hatcher agreed that the character of Margot didn’t have much depth. She’s more acted upon than acting, he said while describing her.
So he and Edelstein then discussed the idea of making her lover a woman.
The mystery centers on a husband plotting to get revenge on his cheating wife. Or as Dallas Theater Center describes the play:
“Tony is convinced that his wife Margot has been cheating on him. Now it seems that the affair is over, but in his jealousy, Tony spins a web of suspicion and deception that will tighten around them and ensnare them both in danger, recrimination and murder. Will the killer get away, or will justice be served? You’ll be kept guessing until the end and gripping the edge of your seat through the twists and turns of this stylish thriller of blackmail and revenge.”
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Dallas Theater Center presents Dial M for Murder
Currently playing through April 28 at the Wyly.
Adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher from the
original play by Frederick Knott
Directed by Rachel Alderman
Cast:
Kia Nicole Boyer
Danny Gardner
Zak Reynolds
Marissa Stewart
Evan Zes
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The play is set in the 1950s among London’s upper class. In the original, Margot’s love interest is a man. Here, the role has changed to Maxine. Hatcher said the change, without affecting the plot, added a richness to the show.
“It was fairly easy to switch because it didn’t change anything, but it did deepen the relationship, and it made the stakes higher,” he said.
Considering the time frame, a same-sex affair would certainly be kept under wraps. Such gossip could be devastating which, Hatcher noted, gave the show an added edge.
“I credit Barry with suggesting that,” he said. “All those scenes considering the affair crackle in a different way. It even turned into more of a love story.”
But he assures there’s still all of the strangling and stabbing Dial M is known for.
The language however rings differently now.
“When you excavate the dynamics, the language and dialogue does change but I also meant to do that in certain areas. All the characters are writers, which enlivens everything with an added sort of competition,” he said.
To add to Maxine’s presence, Hatcher said he modeled her after a famous literary lesbian.
“In a way, she is based on Patricia Highsmith who moved in certain lesbian circles without outing herself” he said. “Everyone knew about her. She didn’t suffer fools.
She was funny and drank too much. So bits and pieces of that Highsmith are found in Maxine.
Hatcher added that not only did it change the texture of the relationship and other dynamics, but it also shifted the motivation. Not only was there a motive for an attempted murder, but with the victim as a lesbian woman, it’s more unpleasant.
“The husband is not only cuckolded, but it’s by a woman,” Hatcher said.
The undertones of homophobia and straight masculine power under siege by a woman would seem evident in the show. But not to the point of distraction.
To people who know the story, all those familiar parts are there. People may know the movie more than the play, but all the signature elements — especially the big murder scene — are there. In short, Hatcher still ends up where Knott did, only with a bit more twists and turns.
Dial M for Murder runs through April 28 at the Wyly Theatre. For tickets, visit DallasTheaterCenter.org.
